Preserve the views we all own
One of San Benito County’s most precious resources is its
vistas. The hillsides of the Diablo and Gabilan Ranges that embrace
us are not only beautiful but productive, functioning mostly as
cattle ranches.
Preserve the views we all own
One of San Benito County’s most precious resources is its vistas. The hillsides of the Diablo and Gabilan Ranges that embrace us are not only beautiful but productive, functioning mostly as cattle ranches.
It was not so long ago that county policy-makers recognized the value of our viewsheds. The result was a hillside development ordinance. But the ordinance was flawed. It only regulated multi-home developments.
A handful of ill-conceived trophy homes have shown us all how easy it is to blight the landscape. One hilltop home in Tres Pinos is easily visible in Dunneville, at San Benito County’s northernmost border.
Led by the county planning commission, the existing ordinance was recently rescinded. A new ordinance has been drafted and is now being considered by the Board of Supervisors.
The new ordinance, like its predecessor, does not restrict development. It just demands that builders respect the value of the views their neighbors purchased. The new ordinance applies to every new home, and applies a standard that is brought to bear whenever a home appears on a hill more than 200 feet above valley floors, and then, only when it’s on a slope exposed to public areas.
That’s a conservative standard, one that would not come into play on many of the hillsides closest to our towns. The homes dotting hills near Union Road and Hwy. 156 would mostly escape the control of the ordinance, for example.
However, even in the areas where the ordinance does apply, it does not constrain growth. Rather, it demands that homes be built to preserve the landscape we all enjoy.
For every example of how to do it wrong, there are examples of how to do it right. One of the county’s most scenic areas, the Cienega Valley, is dotted with homes that are rooted to its topography. The largest home in the county, covering almost half an acre, is a model for sensitive development. The home perched on a hill south of San Juan Valley is almost impossible to spot because its design is not an imposition on the landscape but, rather, part of it.
Supervisors should embrace the new ordinance, or better yet, insist on an even more comprehensive standard. It’s a shame that an ordinance is needed to ensure good neighbors. Recent blunders illustrate it’s a timely necessity.
